LIST OF PICTURES
CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
4.3 PRE- AND POST-INTERVENTION RESULTS .1 Pre-intervention results
A pre-intervention questionnaire was used to record the demographic and background information for each horse (Appendix C).
4.3.1.1 Demographic information and background of horses
The pre-intervention questionnaire was handed to the horse’s owner before the Swedish massage treatments started in order to record the demographic information of the horses. All the horses were kept at different stable yards situated in the Bloemfontein area. Some horses were stabled in a stable by day or night, while others were kept in a paddock during the day or night.
Demographic information recorded in the pre-intervention questionnaire indicated that 70% of the Dressage and Endurance horses were geldings and 30% were mares. The ten Saddlebred horses were all geldings. In these disciplines stallions are not often used, but rather mares and geldings (70%). It is evident that horse owners who participate in the mentioned disciplines prefer geldings, although any horse gender may be used.
a. Age of the animals
The average age for all three disciplines (n=30) was 9.46 years. The Dressage horses’ (n=10) ages ranged from four to 11 years, with an average of 7.9 years. The age range for the Endurance horses (n=10) was between eight to 11 years, with an
average of 9 years. The Saddlebred horses’ (n=10) ages were between six to 17 years, and presented an average of 11.5 years. According to Evans (2002), in general, a horse between five and ten years is at its peak for training. In the performance horse industry each discipline’s age ranges differ according to the rule book for each discipline. Therefore all the Endurance and Dressage horses average ages fell in the peak performance age range according to the rule book for Endurance (RSA, 2010) and Dressage (RSA, 2014a) but the Saddlebred horses(RSA, 2014b) were slightly older.
Dressage horses must be at least six years old to take part in International Dressage events. Local Dressage events determine the horse’s age ranges according to the international standards (RSA, 2014a). For Endurance rides up to 99km, the horse must be at least five years old, whilst for Endurance rides further than 99km and the Fauresmith 200 National championship, a minimum age of six years is required (RSA, 2010). The minimum age required for Saddlebred horses are three years for junior horses and five years and older for senior horses (RSA, 2014b). All the performance horses included in the study adhered to the specific age ranges stipulated in each discipline’s rule book.
The Saddlebred horses’ average age was slightly older than the two other disciplines. This may be as a result of the fact that the Saddlebred horse rule book does not indicate a maximum age for a Saddlebred horse to participate in shows.
b. Horse height and breed
Table 4.1 reflects the horse’s different heights in hands and centimetre for each discipline. Most of the Dressage and Saddlebred horses had an average height of 16.0 hands. The Endurance horses mostly had an average height of 15.0 hands.
Table 4.1 follows
Table 4.1 The horses (mean ± standard deviation) heights per discipline Dressage Endurance Saddle
Height in hands 16.00±1.00 15.00±0.41 16.00±0.48 Height in cm 163.76±10.30 153.67±3.28 163.93±4.92
[cm=centimetres]
Within the Dressage discipline, any horse breed and height can be trained.
However, most of the horses participating in the research study were Warmblood bred horses. Endurance riding requires a smaller bred horse with endurance ability, stamina and speed. The horse which mostly resembles the mentioned qualities for Endurance riding is the Arabian horse and the Arabian cross horse (Arabian cross with Thoroughbred). The Endurance horse that was mostly utilised in the research study was the Arabian cross horse, which agrees with the literature. The only horse bred for Saddlebred horse riding is the Saddlebred horse. The Saddlebred horse discipline is breed orientated, which is the reason why only Saddlebred horses are used in this discipline in the study.
c. Housing conditions
The horses’ (n=30) livery conditions were as follows: Most of the Dressage horses (n=9) (90%) were kept in a standard stable by night and paddock by day, whereas 90% of the Saddlebred horses were stabled by day and night. The majority (60%) of the Endurance horses were kept in a paddock by day and night, and 40% were kept in a paddock during the day and stabled at night. It is the owner’s decision to decide where they want to keep their horse. There are no regulations regarding the livery of a horse. This explains the different livery conditions for the horses that partook in the research study.
d. Training schedules
Training and competing schedules differ for each discipline. The training territory ranged from sandy arenas to hard ground.
The Dressage horses (n=10) were mostly trained six times per week for a maximum of 45 minutes. Dressage training is limited to not more than one hour of training, as the horse’s muscles are forced beyond normal evolved development, while the discipline also requires long periods of concentration. The Endurance horses (n=10) were mostly trained five times per week for two hours at a time. Endurance horses’
training entails long hours of riding in order to increase stamina and endurance. The majority of the Saddlebred horses (n=10) were trained five times per week for 30 minutes. Saddlebred horses’ muscles are trained very hard due to the artificial gaits practiced with the trainer. These artificial gaits are not a normal action for a horse, but they are specifically trained to perform them. The Saddlebred horse’s muscles are also worked beyond the horse’s normal evolved development, and therefore the horse cannot train for more than 30 minutes at a time.
Most of the Dressage horses were trained in a sandy arena, whilst some were trained in a sandy arena with rubber chips. Endurance horses were mostly trained on hard ground, although some were trained on sand. The Saddlebred horses were trained on different territories, including grass, sand and hard ground.
Soft, sandy arenas have less impact on the horse’s body and muscles than hard ground. During riding, the surface of the ground should absorb and dissipate the force of the hoof contacting the ground. An ideal layer of ground feels resilient, giving cushioned support and being somewhat elastic. A riding surface which is not ideal may cause bruising to the sole of the foot and can cause a concussion effect up into the leg (Strickland, 2001). Bruising the sole of the foot and concussion may lead to symptoms of discomfort during riding, and the horse may compensate for the sore muscle (by using the opposite muscle to avoid discomfort from e.g. bruising) which may lead to muscle tension. These mentioned aspects of a resistance-free arena would be ideal for all horse-riding arenas, but most of the owners ride wherever they feel comfortable, not taking the horse’s well-being into consideration.
The arenas of the Dressage horses that participated in the research study mostly resemble a resistance-free arena, whilst this was not always the case with the other
two disciplines. This might indicate that the Dressage horse’s training surface has the least impact on the horse’s body.
e. Competition schedule
The Dressage and Endurance horses in the research study mostly compete every four to six weeks, whereas the Saddlebred horses mainly compete four to five times per year. The Endurance horses have a minimum of five performance events per month (RSA, 2010), whilst the Dressage horses have a minimum of two shows per month (RSA, 2014a). The Saddlebred horses participate in show events during spring, autumn and summer, with a maximum of two times per month (RSA, 2014b).
No regulations exist that force horse owners to attend a certain number of competitions. It is up to the horse owner to decide in how many shows the horse will participate. Each show attended by the horse can improve the horse’s grading, which may increase the horse’s value as well as the current level of competition.
4.3.1.2 Signs of discomfort recorded during riding
In the pre-intervention questionnaire, horse owners were requested to indicate the discomfort symptoms the horses displayed during riding. The symptoms were scored using a Likert scale of 0 to 10, where 0 indicated no symptoms experienced, and 10 indicated many symptoms experienced. Table 4.2 reflects the median score for the discomfort symptoms in each discipline, where a higher median score depicts a higher level of discomfort.
Table 4.2 follows
Table 4.2 Medians and ranges of discomfort symptoms experienced during pre-intervention of Dressage, Endurance and Saddlebred horses
Discomfort symptoms
Discipline
Dressage Endurance Saddle Median
(min.-max.)
Median (min.-max.)
Median (min.-max.) Horse tilting head to one side 2.0 (0.0-8.0) 0.0 (0.0-5.0) 2.5 (0.0-6.0) Stiff on one rein 4.5 (0.0-7.0) 0.0 (0.0-4.0) 4.0 (0.0-8.0)
Bucking 0.0 (0.0-7.0) 0.0 (0.0-4.0) 0.0(0.0-10.0)
Twitching of tail 1.0 (0.0-6.0) 0.0 (0.0-0.0) 1.5 (0.0-8.0) Moving away when saddled 0.5 (0.0-5.0) 0.0 (0.0-2.0) 1.0 (0.0-5.0)
Keep head low 0.0 (0.0-5.0) 0.0 (0.0-5.0) 1.5 (0.0-4.0)
Any abnormal behaviour e.g. difficult
saddling or bridling 0.0 (0.0-4.0) 0.0 (0.0-4.0) 1.0 (0.0-6.0) Resent grooming, touch or saddling 0.0 (0.0-5.0) 0.0 (0.0-2.0) 1.0 (0.0-6.0) Any unexplained change in stride 0.0 (0.0-5.0) 0.0 (0.0-0.0) 3.0 (0.0-8.0) Twitching of muscles when touched 0.0 (0.0-3.0) 0.0 (0.0-2.0) 1.0 (0.0-6.0) Excessive shaking of head 0.0 (0.0-5.0) 0.0 (0.0-0.0) 1.0 (0.0-3.0) Leaning on bid 2.0 (0.0-5.0) 0.0 (0.0-5.0) 2.0 (0.0-5.0) React when girth is tightened 0.0 (0.0-5.0) 0.0 (0.0-2.0) 1.0 (0.0-6.0) Refusal to take lead 0.5 (0.0-7.0) 0.0 (0.0-5.0) 1.0 (0.0-6.0)
Rearing 0.0 (0.0-0.0) 0.0 (0.0-2.0) 0.0 (0.0-5.0)
Refusal to walk backwards 1.0 (0.0-5.0) 0.0 (0.0-2.0) 1.0 (0.0-4.0) Abnormally nervous horse 0.0 (0.0-6.0) 0.0 (0.0-5.0) 1.0 (0.0-6.0)
[min. =minimum quartile; max. =maximum quartile]
A horse displaying any of the symptoms recorded in Table 4.2 may experience some degree of muscle tension in an area, for example tension in the neck muscle.
Table 4.2 shows that the symptoms mostly experienced by all three disciplines were where the horses displayed stiffness on one rein and leaning on the bid. A horse
that is stiff on one rein or leaning on the bid during riding may experience stiffness in one side of the neck muscle. The other symptoms experienced by two of the three disciplines were horse tilting head to one side (Dressage and Endurance horses), twitching of tail (Dressage and Saddlebred horses), and keeping head low (Endurance and Saddlebred horses). Tilting of the horse’s head to one side indicates stiffness in the neck, whilst keeping head low and twitching of the tail may indicate stiffness in the back.
A normal muscle contracts and then immediately relaxes. Muscle tension develops when the muscle is overworked and does not release immediately after a contraction. The muscles then become chronically tensed, the muscle fibres remain closely packed, which in turn constricts the normal blood flow to the muscle. Poor blood flow leads to poor circulation of oxygen and nutrients to the muscles as well as the reduced removal rate of waste products. The muscle can therefore not return to normal functioning. This may lead to poor flexibility due to the fact that the muscle cannot relax immediately after a contraction (Wilson, 2010). Tension in muscles can lead to pain and discomfort, which may be shown by the horse as discomfort signs.
Tension in a muscle, when not released, may lead to a tear in the muscle or damage to other connective tissue, and can cause a muscle injury. Muscles that are tensed with fibrocytes cannot relax on their own. This results in the body creating other areas of resistance in order to maintain balance in the muscles (homeostasis). If the body cannot fix this tension on its own, it will set up a compensatory effect.
Compensation of a muscle appears when one muscle does not function optimally, either due to tension or injury, and another muscle takes over the function of the dysfunctional muscle. Any form of massage can improve the blood circulation to a blocked muscle, minimising poor flexibility (Bird, 2014).
According to Hourdebaigt (2007), the collection work during Dressage riding can cause the horse to tense up in the jaw and develop stress points in the neck. The Dressage horse may experience muscle tension in the neck which may lead to poor flexibility. Poor flexibility then leads to discomfort signs shown during riding, and the horse owner may portray the signs as the horse being stubborn. Signs of discomfort
by the Dressage horse, as recorded in Table 4.2, were aligned with general tension experienced by Dressage horses.
Endurance horses normally develop tension in the entire body; however the chest, back and hindquarters are mostly affected (Sly, 2001). According to the owner’s response in Table 4.2, the Endurance horses only experienced tension in their back and neck, which may be an indication of the owner’s lack of attention to signs of discomfort displayed by the horse during riding, and such signs being interpreted by the horse owner as the horse being stubborn.
The Saddlebred horse performs different artificial gaits which may cause stress points to develop in the neck, shoulder, forelegs, chest, abdomen and back (Sly, 2001). Table 4.2 indicates that Saddlebred horses mostly experienced tension in their back area. These results may also be indicative of a lack in paying attention to discomfort signs by the horse owners during riding, as mentioned earlier.
4.3.2 Post-intervention results
A post-intervention questionnaire was used to record the post-intervention results for each horse (Appendix D).
In the post-intervention questionnaire, horse owners were requested to report whether the discomfort symptoms indicated during the pre-intervention have improved, and if so, by how much. The level of improvement was measured using a Likert scale of 1 to 10, where 1 indicated no improvement, whilst 10 indicated exceptional improvement. For each of the three disciplines, Table 4.3 below shows the level of improvement for each of the discomfort symptoms.
Table 4.3 follows
Table 4.3 Medians and ranges of improvement in discomfort symptoms experienced during post-intervention of Dressage, Endurance and Saddlebred horses
Discomfort symptoms
Discipline
Dressage Endurance Saddle Median (min.-
max.)
Median (min.-max.)
Median (min.-max.) Horse tilting head to one side 5.0 (1.0-8.0) 7.0 (1.0-8.0) 4.0 (1.0-6.0) Stiff on one rein 5.0 (1.0-7.0) 2.0 (1.0-3.0) 5.0 (4.0-7.0)
Bucking 3.0 (3.0-3.0) 1.0 (1.0-1.0) 1.0 (1.0-7.0)
Twitching of tail 7.0(1.0-10.0) 0.0 (0.0-0.0) 2.5 (1.0-5.0) Moving away when saddling 2.0 (1.0-7.0) 2.5 (1.0-4.0) 1.0 (1.0-6.0)
Keep head low 6.5 (4.0-8.0) 6.0 (6.0-7.0) 2.0 (1.0-7.0)
Any abnormal behaviour, e.g. difficult
saddling or bridling 3.5 (1.0-7.0) 1.0 (1.0-1.0) 2.5 (1.0-4.0) Resent grooming, touch or saddling 4.0 (1.0-7.0) 1.0 (1.0-1.0) 1.0 (1.0-5.0) Any unexplained change in stride 6.5 (5.0-8.0) 0.0 (0.0-0.0) 4.0 (4.0-6.0) Twitching of muscles when touched 3.0 (1.0-8.0) 0.0 (0.0-0.0) 1.0 (1.0-5.0) Excessive shaking of head 1.5 (1.0-2.0) 0.0 (0.0-0.0) 2.5 (1.0-4.0) Leaning on bid 4.0 (1.0-8.0) 7.0 (7.0-7.0) 4.5 (2.0-7.0) React when girth is tightened 3.0 (1.0-5.0) 1.0 (1.0-1.0) 3.0 (1.0-6.0) Refusal to take lead 5.0 (1.0-10.0) 6.0 (1.0-9.0) 5.0 (3.0-6.0)
Rearing 0.0 (0.0-0.0) 1.0 (1.0-1.0) 6.0 (1.0-6.0)
Refusal to walk backwards 7.0 (3.0-9.0) 1.0 (1.0-1.0) 3.5 (2.0-5.0) Abnormally nervous horse 1.5 (1.0-9.0) 5.0 (1.0-9.0) 1.5 (1.0-5.0)
[min. =minimum quartile; max. =maximum quartile]
Table 4.3 reveals that the symptoms that improved mostly in two of the three disciplines were horse tilting head to one side (Dressage and Endurance), horse keeping head low (Dressage and Endurance), improvement in horse’s stride
(Dressage and Saddlebred), leaning on bid (Endurance and Saddlebred) and refusal to take lead (Endurance and Saddlebred). When a horse is tilting its head to one side or keeps its head low, it may be indicative of tension in the neck and back muscle. An improvement in these symptoms experienced by the horse could be as a result of massage of the neck, shoulder, back and hind quarter areas that represented zone one, two, three and four in the research study.
The performance of rubbing or stroking techniques during a Swedish massage increases the blood circulation, which increases oxygen flow to the muscles and subsequently releases toxins from the muscles, as mentioned earlier. The benefit that results from this is that Swedish massage might shorten the recovery time from muscular strains or exhaustion by flushing the tissues of lactic acid, uric acid and other metabolic waste. This benefit is observed as heat and redness at the area massaged (Hollis, 2009). Table 4.3 reflects an evident result that all the disciplines reported a notable improvement in at least five discomfort symptoms as a result of the Swedish massage treatments performed. Not all of the symptoms mentioned in Table 4.2 improved, but even other symptoms than those indicated in Table 4.2 improved, as indicated in Table 4.3. This could mean that horse owners paid more attention to discomfort signs after the completion of the pre-intervention questionnaire.
Table 4.4 The percentage improvement or deterioration of the horse's handling after the Swedish massages
Response Dressage (n=10)
Endurance (n=10)
Saddle (n=9)
Better handling 40.00% 80.00% 55.56%
Worse handling 10.00% 0.00% 0.00%
No change in handling
50.00% 20.00% 44.44%
[%=percentage]
Table 4.4 displays the responses from the post-intervention questionnaire where the owner was requested to indicate any improvement in the horse’s handling after the Swedish massage sessions. One of the Saddlebred owners did not respond to the question asked in the post-intervention questionnaire.
From Table 4.4 it can be depicted that the Endurance and Saddlebred horses benefited most from the treatment. Swedish massage may positively affect the horse’s mental state by relaxing the horse. A relaxed horse may be easier to handle than a stressed horse (Hourdebaigt, 2007).
Table 4.5 The response of overall flexibility after the Swedish massages
Response Dressage (n=10)
Endurance (n=10)
Saddle (n=9)
Better flexibility 80.00% 100.00% 88.89%
No change in flexibility
20.00% 0.00% 11.11%
[%=percentage]
The percentage distribution of the improvement in the flexibility of the horses is given in Table 4.5. Most of the Dressage horses’ (80%) flexibility has improved greatly as a result of the Swedish massages provided. A definite improvement of the Endurance horses’ flexibility was indicated by a positive response of a 100%.
The majority of the Saddlebred horses (88.89%) have also indicated a positive improvement in the flexibility of the horse after the Swedish massages. One of the Saddlebred owners did not respond to the question asked in the post-intervention questionnaire.
Poor flexibility of a muscle can be caused by tension in the muscle. By rubbing or stroking tensed muscles, blood circulation is increased which leads to increased oxygen transportation and the removal of lactic acid from the muscles, as mentioned earlier. The quicker the lactic acid is removed, the quicker the muscle can return to its normal state, and more flexible muscles may be achieved (Hourdebaigt, 2007).
The more elastic a muscle is, the better the ability of the muscle to perform different
manoeuvres, thus improving the horse’s performance ability. A better performing horse increases the monetary value of the horse.